The Ministry of Defence (MoD) acknowledged a "regrettable failure" after discovering 97 million documents related to an inquiry investigating alleged war crimes by UK special forces in Afghanistan, more than three years since the inquiry began. The discovery was described as “troubling” and “extraordinary news” by Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, chair of the Independent Inquiry into Britain’s Armed Forces Actions in Afghanistan (IIA). The MoD has identified thousands of potentially relevant documents among the newly found files, including images from night raids that may have been taken during operations under investigation.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-25,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
The discovery of 97 million documents more than three years into an inquiry investigating allegations that UK special committed war crimes in Afghanistan was a "regrettable failure", the Ministry of Defence has said.
asserted
Ministry → publish → Defence
The admission comes after the inquiry's chair, Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, called the discovery "troubling" and "extraordinary news".
asserted
chair → come → discovery
The independent inquiry was established in 2022 to investigate alleged executions by members of the Special Air Service between 2010 and 2013, during so-called night raids targeting the Taliban.
asserted
inquiry → establish → Taliban
It has yet to produce any findings.
asserted
It → have → findings
MoD lawyers were called to a hearing on Friday to explain why the documents from the period in question were not found sooner.
Haddon-Cave said he had taken the "exceptional step" of calling the hearing because of the disclosure and the "somewhat casual way" the MoD had informed his team.
Steven Gray KC, representing the MoD, said the ministry "apologises that it fell short".
asserted
it → call → MoD
The "failure was one of communication, not application", he said, adding that the ministry was working hard to search through documents across multiple IT systems and classifications at "huge expense".
asserted
ministry → say → expense
Gray added that the department was taking steps to avoid any similar revelations happening in the future.
asserted
revelations → add → future
Lawyers acting for the bereaved families said it was "staggering" the documents came to light at such a late stage in the inquiry's work.
asserted
documents → act → work
Within the new files, the MoD says it has identified thousands of potentially relevant documents, including images that appear to have been taken during a number of special forces operations under investigation by the inquiry.
asserted
that → say → inquiry
However, it stressed that much of the material found would be unrelated to the inquiry's terms of reference.
asserted
much → stress → reference
The Independent Inquiry relating to Afghanistan (IIA) told the BBC it was yet to receive any of the new material.
asserted
it → relate → material
SAS troops carried out night-time arrest raids across Afghanistan during the conflict there, called Deliberate Detention Operations (DDOs), which were meant to target Taliban commanders and bombmakers, and collect material that could provide further intelligence about insurgent networks.
uncertain
that → carry → networks
Following a night raid, members of the SAS and their support staff took photos of anyone killed, and collected mobile phones and other devices for intelligence purposes.
asserted
members → follow → purposes
Forensic experts are examining these images to see whether the SAS's account of what took place during the operations fits with the ballistic evidence visible in the photographs.
asserted
what → examine → photographs
The inquiry follows years of reporting by BBC Panorama, which revealed evidence that the SAS deliberately killed people who posed no threat, including children and handcuffed detainees during raids.
asserted
who → follow → raids
It has already heard evidence from senior UK military personnel who have said they believed the SAS carried out extrajudicial killings of Afghan civilians.
asserted
SAS → hear → civilians
It has also heard concerns about the secrecy under which the SAS operated and that previous investigations into the allegations were ended prematurely.
asserted
investigations → hear → allegations
Edward Craven KC, acting on behalf of the bereaved families, echoed the chair's comments on the newly discovered documents, saying the disclosure represented yet another example of the MoD frustrating the justice process.
asserted
MoD → act → process
Craven said that what mattered most to the bereaved families was getting the truth about the deaths of their loved ones.
asserted
mattered → say → ones
Haddon-Cave said it was crucial that "any material of real relevance is quickly identified and disclosed", adding that he intended to call another hearing next month to question the MoD on its progress.
asserted
he → say → progress
The MoD said it was fully committed to supporting the inquiry and that it regretted that it was "not as prompt or consistent as it should have been" in disclosing the documents.
asserted
it → say → documents
Set up by the then-Defence Secretary Ben Wallace following the publication of the evidence by the BBC in 2022, the IIA has come under criticism over delays and mounting costs.
asserted
IIA → Set → delays
It had stated that it would provide an interim or final report 12-18 months after it was established in 2022.
asserted
it → state → 2022
After almost four years, it has yet to publish any findings.
asserted
it → have → findings
The BBC revealed earlier this month that it has already cost the public purse £58m.
Around half of that cost is understood to have been money spent by the MoD and the wider government in responding to the inquiry, including lawyers representing former SAS officers and senior military figures.
Public inquiries are rarely quick or cheap.
asserted
inquiries → reveal → officers
The inquiry into the fire at Grenfell Tower, which claimed 72 lives and was found to be entirely avoidable, took more than seven years to complete and cost more than £170m.
Haddon-Cave said he had set a deadline to hear all evidence by 30 April 2027 and that he was seeking assurances that the new discovery would not delay the work of the inquiry further.
Do you have information about this story that you want to share?
Get in touch using SecureDrop, a highly anonymous and secure way of whistleblowing to the BBC which uses the Tor network.
asserted
which → claim → network
Note: The SecureDrop link will only work in a Tor browser.
asserted
link → work → browser
For information on keeping secure and anonymous, here's some advice on how to use SecureDrop.
asserted
advice → keep → SecureDrop
The Aporia
